Speed-varying and steering device for motor-vehicles.



Patented -Sep t. l9, I899:

. E. DRAULLETTE & E. cATols. SPEED VARYING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHIQLES.

Application filed. Sept. 22, 1897.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

EDMOND DRAULLETTE AND ERNEST OATOIS, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

SPEED-VARYING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,234 dated September 19, 1899. Application filed September 22, 1897. Serial Not 652,553. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDMOND DRAULLETTE and ERNEST OATOIS, citizens of the French Republic, residing at Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in,Speed-Varying and Steering Devices for Motor-Carriages, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide vehicles of the automobile type with mechanism whereby the speed of the vehicle may be unerringly regulated irrespective of the constant rotative speed of the motor and to also provide mechanism by which the wheels of the vehicle may be rotated at different speeds, so as to steer the vehicle.

To such ends our invention consists of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the various shafts, drums, and connecting beltingsorgearings fully shown and described in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, wherein similar letters or numerals of reference designate like or equivalent parts wherever found throughout both views, and in which- Figure l is a view in section of the main portion of the mechanism of our improved speed-varying and steering device for motorcarriages, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the entire mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the driving-shaft, actuated by any suitable motor,

and upon this shaft A is rigidly mounted a conical drum b the shaft A being revolubly mounted in suitable axle-boxes in the frame of the vehicle. Also supported in suitable axle-boxes supported by the frame of the vehicle is a compound shaft consisting of a central shaft E and E, carrying at one end a sprocket-wheel 0, upon the central portion of which shaft is mounted, so as to be revoluble thereon, preferably by being rigidly secured upon a hollow shaft F and F, a conical drum d, similar to the like conical drum b rigidly secured to the shaft A. This conical drum d is arranged with its apex or smaller end opposite to the base or larger end of the other similar drum b and passing around these drums is 'a suitable endless belt kept atthe proper tension bya suitable combined idler friction-pulley and shifting-pulley M, pressed in and out so as to give the proper tension on the belt by a suitable screw, as shown in Fig.

2, and connected with said endless belt in any suitable manner necessary toshift the belt from end to end of said conical drums so as to vary the speed.

Revolubly mounted upon the shaft E and E at the end opposite to that upon which is mounted the sprocket-wheel c, and preferably extending a short distance over the shaft F and F, to which the drum d is rigidly secured, is a hollow shaft G, revolublysupported in suitable bearings supported in the side frame of the vehicle opposite to that portion of the side of the vehicle in which is supported in similar bearings the shaftE and E, and on the outer end of this hollow shaft G is rigidly secured, in similar manner as is the sprocket-wheel c to the shaft E and E, a like sprocket-wheel o. Rigidly secured to the respective ends of the drum (1 are suitable bevel gear-wheels h and h, and revolubly mounted upon the shaft E and E and G, respectively, adjacent to such gear-wheels h and h, are suitable hubs carrying one or more short shafts '7 and 0', upon which are revolubly mounted idler bevel gear Wheels or pinionsj and j, meshing with and rotated by the bevel gear pinions or wheels h and h, which are rigidly secured to the respective ends 0 the conical drum d.

Revolubly mounted the one upon the shaft E and E and the other upon the annular shaft G are double-faced bevel gear-wheels 13 and 13, one geared face of which meshes with the wheels j and j, respectively, opposite to the meshment thereof with the wheels h and h, which wheels or pinions 13 and 13 mesh on their opposite gear-face with bevel gear-wheels or pinions k and Zc',mounted upon shafts s and s of the same form as the shafts a and 9", which shafts are carried by hubs similar to those carrying' the shafts 7" and 7", except that such last-mentioned hubs instead of being revolubly supported are rigidly secured to the shafts upon which they are mounted, so as to rotate therewith, the one upon the shaft E E and the other upon the hollow shaft G.

Revolubly mounted the one upon the shaft E and E and the other upon the hollow shaft G are combined spur and bevel gear wheels or pinions Z and l, the bevel-gears of which .mesh the one with the bevel gear wheels or pinions 7c and the other with the like pinions and the spur-gears of which mesh the first with a spur gear wheel or pinion 0, which meshes in turn with a spur gear wheel or pinion m and the other of which meshes directly with the spur gear-wheel m, similar to the gear-wheel m, which spur gear-wheels m and m are rigidly mounted upon a suitable shaft 11, which is revolubly mounted in suitable bearings supported in the frame of the vehicle, which shaft n is rotated in either direction by an endless screw-gearing 19 and 20, the screw 20 of which gearing is rigidly mounted upon a suitable shaft 1, which shaft t is provided at the top in the proper place in the vehicle to be manipulated by the hand of the driver of the vehicle with a suitable handwheel (not shown) rigidly secured thereto, the rotation of which hand-wheel will cause a rotation of the shaft t.

The driving-wheels (not shown) are each revolubly mounted upon the ends of the shaft or axle carrying the same in the same manner as are the wheels of the ordinary bicycle, and rigidly secured to each of said wheels is a suitable sprocket-wheel operated bya suitable sprocket chain, one of which chains passes around the sprocket-wheel c and the other around the sprocket-wheel c.

It will be seen that the motor-shaft A being put in rotation at a constant speed by the motor, which may be of any desired form, the speed at which the drum (1, and consequently the speed at which the traction-wheels of the vehicle will each be rotated, may be regulated by shifting the endless belt passing around the two conical drums b and d from one end to the other of such drums, and that, therefore, although the speed of the motor and the motor-shaft A remain constant, the speed of movement of the vehicle may be regulated within a large range without interference with the rotative speed of the motor. If now it be desired to turn the vehicle either to the right or left, it will only be necessary to turn the shaft t in the proper direction, in order by the action of the differential gears interposed between the wheels m and m and the drum d, which difierential gears are rotated by the rotation of the drum d, to cause in the one case a retardation and in the other an acceleration in the speed of the sprockets c and 0 so long as the shaft 25 continues to retate, whereby if the traction wheel or wheels on the right side of the vehicle has its or their speed reduced the vehicle will be turned toward the right, and vice versa.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, its construction, and operation, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a driving-shaft A carrying a drum b rigidly mounted thereon, transmitting its rotary motion by means of a belt to a second drum d, with two bevelwheels h, h, secured at each end of the drum (1 and gearing with pinionsj or j respectively, arranged on the naves or cores of differential.

trains r, r, the pinionsj,j gearing with bevelwheels 13 or 13', engaged with wheels 70, 7c of the differential trains s, s, which act on the terminal wheels Z, Z.

2. The combination of a speed-varying device with a shaft n, carrying two gear-wheels m, m, one of which wheels m gears with the wheel Z by means of a pinion 0, while the wheel m gears directly with Z, the shaft n carrying a worm-wheel 19 cooperating with a worm 20, operated by the driver, so as to retard or stop one of the differential trains s or s and to accelerate the other, which movement is transmitted to the wheels of the carriage.

3. In a vehicle having traction-wheels, the combination with a shaft E, of gearing connecting the same with one traction-wheel of the vehicle, a combined spur and bevel gearwheel Z loosely and revolubly mounted upon the shaft E, a wheel 13 having double-faced bevel-gearing loosely mounted upon the shaft E, a shaft or shafts s rigidly secured to the shaft E at right angles thereto between the wheels Z and 13, and a bevel gear wheel or wheels 70 loosely and revolubly mounted upon the shaft or shafts s meshing on one side with the wheel 1 and on the other with the wheel 13, a hollow shaft G mounted at the end of the shaft E opposite to that carrying the wheel l so as to rotate separately, gearing connecting the shaft G with a traction-wheel on the side of the vehicle, opposite to the side on which is located the wheel geared to E, a conical drum (1 loosely and revolubly mounted upon or between the shafts E and G, a gearwheel 1, similar to the wheel Z, loosely and revolubly mounted upon the shaft G, a shaft or shafts s carrying loosely-mounted bevel gear-wheels 7c meshing with the wheel I, rigidly secured to the shaft G, a wheel 13, similar to the wheel 13, loosely and revolubly mounted upon the shaft G and meshing with the wheel or wheels 70, bevel gear-wheels h and h rigidly secured to either end of the conical drum (1, a differential gearing similar to that formed by the shafts s, s and wheels 70 and 7c loosely and revolubl y mounted one upon the shaft E so that the wheels j thereof mesh on one side with the wheel 13 and on the other with the wheel h and the other also so mounted on the shaft G that its like wheels j mesh with the wheels h and 13, a motor-shaft A, gearing connecting the shaft A and the drum cl, and mechanism for simultaneously rotating the wheels 0 and c in opposite directions, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands this 6th day of September, 1897.

EDMOND DRAULLET' E. ERNEST CATOIS.

Vitnesses;

EDWARD P. MAoLEAN, VICTOR MATEO.

ICC 

